ROTTERDAM, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BYD has teamed up with Thriev to provide twenty (20) BYD e6 electric sedans for London’s emission-free, chauffeur fleet -- vehicles officially launch on Feb 3rd, 2014. Last month, the Mayor of London announced that from January 1st, 2018 and forward, all new taxis would need to be zero-emissions in order to receive an operating license. Today’s announcement means that the London private hire market is nearly four years ahead of schedule. Thriev (www.thriev.com) offers low-cost, zero-emission, chauffeured cars to corporate and private clients in London. The company is rolling out an electric car program complete with intelligent AC power interfaces, EVs and state-of-the-art smart car/charger scheduling systems. Part of the deal with BYD is that Thriev will equip its Edgware Road facility, west London, with BYD’s purpose-designed charging equipment, which allows fast charging of the e6 in just two hours.
Initially, the e6 fleet is being supplied on a lease arrangement, although both BYD and Thriev expect this to be the beginning of a long-term relationship fulfilling a joint BYD and Thriev vision for a ‘green city solution’ – the transitioning of key public and personal transport vehicles from petrol and diesel power to pure electric. In December 2013, two fully-electric, full-size 12-meter BYD buses operated by Go-Ahead Group, entered service on two central Transport-for-London routes – part of a Europe-wide initiative to introduce emissions-free buses to major city centre operations. Both the e6 car and eBus from BYD share the same proven and reliable Battery-electric technology. They use BYD’s internally developed Iron-Phosphate (or “FE”) batteries, proven in over 100 million miles of taxi and 14 million miles of bus passenger transport in China as well as many parts of the world.
Commenting on the agreement with Thriev, Isbrand Ho, BYD Europe’s Managing Director, said, “We have been looking at various options to bring our e6 and its proven emissions-free technology to London. We are convinced that in Thriev we have found the right partner to do this – we share many of the same objectives of providing safe, reliable and efficient green transport in cities.” Arvind Vij, CEO and a co-founder of Thriev, said, “We think that BYD’s e6 model will meet all our requirements to offer passenger comfort, good range and rapid charging. We share BYD’s desire to provide practical, zero-emission solutions and look forward to a long-term partnership.”
About BYD
BYD Co., Ltd is a leading-edge provider of green energy technologies that specializes in the IT, automotive, and new energy industries. Being the world’s biggest rechargeable battery manufacturer, BYD also has the largest global market share for cell-phone chargers and keypads. BYD branched out into the auto business in 2003, and has kept a robust yearly growth rate successively. In 2008, Warren Buffett invested $232 million to take a 9.89% stake in BYD. Today, BYD is the fastest-growing Chinese auto company and a global pioneer in the field of new energy vehicles including Dual Mode Electric Models and Pure Electric Models.
Based on its core Fe Battery technology, BYD has worked out a Green City Solution, which aims to electrify urban public transportation systems by transitioning from gasoline and diesel buses and taxis to pure electric ones. In March 2012, BYD and Daimler AG officially announced the entirely new EV brand Denza in China.
In addition, BYD has also focused on the Research & Development and manufacturing of a wide range of new energy products, including energy storage system, solar energy products and LED lighting. For more information, please visit www.byd.com, www.byd-auto.net, www.facebook.com/bydauto or email pr@byd.com.
About Thriev
Thriev is Britain’s first of a kind private hire chauffeur service that aims to revolutionise transportation within London. Having launched in September 2013, the company boasts a fully-electric, zero-emission fleet and has ambitious plans for rapid expansion. Thriev’s mission is to work together with multiple stakeholders, ranging from governmental bodies and NGOs to large FTSE 100 corporations. The partnerships formed by Thriev will influence not only the company’s immediate users, but also everyone in the capital by providing a cleaner, safer and more sustainable environment for London.
Thriev demonstrates that it is both a frontrunner in utilising the advances of modern technology and a commercially viable organisation by offering its services at a price that is on average far lower than that of its competitors. In addition, Thriev aims to minimise even further its impact on the environment by striving to source the electricity needed for running its fleet from renewable sources and maximally utilising the nation’s electricity network (e.g. overnight recharging). The company is keeping on top of the game by overcoming the conventional challenges posed by operating electric vehicles through installing its own state-of-the-art, rapid technology chargepoint network that is on average 12-14 times more efficient than the majority of installed chargepoints.
The practical implication of using innovative companies like Thriev is that with every five-mile journey undertaken by just one of its vehicles, it prevents 1kg of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere, along with a myriad of other harmful gases, emissions and particulates. In the long run, this will contribute to substantially reducing every client’s carbon footprint, whilst maximising their budgets, freeing up valuable funds for other purposes. For further information on Thriev, please visit: www.thriev.com, https://twitter.com/thriev, http://www.linkedin.com/company/thriev or email: office@thriev.com.